Road to the ELT

Today’s Picture of the Week captures the expansive hilltop of Cerro Armazones in Chile, the home of ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). The Martian-esque ground may look flat from up here, but the peak is more than 3000 metres above sea level. Ground-based telescopes work best when the atmosphere between them and the Universe is kept to a minimum, making the ELT’s mountaintop perch perfect for observations.

Much like the physical road up the mountain, the metaphorical road to the ELT has been equally long. Indeed, the first detailed studies for the project were given the go-ahead on this day exactly 17 years ago. This study kicked off the design process, although it wasn’t for another four years that Cerro Armazones was selected as the future home for the giant telescope. Many milestones have been surpassed since 11 December 2006, and of course, the design has changed somewhat since the original concept. Most recently, the project passed the 50% completion point, and the telescope is now expected to begin operation later this decade. Today, we’re nearing the summit of this mountain of a project.